The Tesla Presidency: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and The Shameless Grift

In one of the most pure, naked, and shameless examples of his corrupt, quid quo pro presidency, Trump turned into a salesman for Musk's sagging Tesla brand and promised to punish his critics.

Whenever I see Elon Musk cavorting with Donald Trump, I think about the movie Knives Out 2: Glass Onion.

In Rian Johnson’s murder mystery, Edward Norton plays a billionaire “inventor” who is heralded as a genius by the world and his friends despite displaying no actual traits of brilliance. Upon bare scrutiny, it’s clear that all of his “brilliant” ideas belong to other people. Regardless, the myth of his genius has so saturated the discourse that otherwise intelligent people refuse to see the facts and repeatedly ignore his reckless mediocrity. He even builds a giant“Glass Onion” mansion. There’s no depth, no 4-D chess, no subversive intelligence at display. It’s just hype. It’s 24-7 smoke and mirrors with a multi-million dollar marketing campaign backed by a loyal, rabid cult.

Speaking of Musk and Trump, even though both men were born on third base, they wake up thinking they hit a triple. Trump squandered $413 million given to him by his father, much of it from tax dodges, and avoided the war due to daddy buying him a fake “bone spurs” diagnosis. Despite being born with whiteness, wealth, and celebrity, Trump has declared bankruptcy six times. Nonetheless, he still promotes the myth that he mastered the “Art of the Deal.” This fictitious persona was further bolstered by the reality TV show The Apprentice. Without this manufactured role and story, Trump would have never become President.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, “the genius,” did not create or invent electric vehicles or rockets. He was also born to a wealthy family. He took over Tesla, and with the help of $38 billion from government subsidies and assistance from the South African Apartheid broligarchy, he has been able to become the richest man on Earth. Two of his SpaceX rockets have blown up in the past two months, resulting in expensive fireworks paid by U.S. tax dollars. After taking over Twitter, he has thoroughly corrupted the once cutting edge hub of breaking news and activism into a barely functioning outlet for Nazis, white supremacists, and Russian trolls.

As the unelected head of DOGE, Musk has taken a chainsaw to the U.S. government and dismantled critical agencies and fired thousands of federal employees, including many Trump supporters and veterans. This includes accidentally firing hundreds of individuals who oversee our nuclear stockpile weapons and experts monitoring the bird flu. What could go wrong? Well, a volatile stock market, rising unemployment, high prices for eggs and groceries, and a potential recession for starters. Trump’s dumb “trade wars” are simply speeding up America’s downfall.

It’s part of the genius “art of the deal” to punish your base, sink the economy, turn allies into enemies, and plummet your company’s stock prices. Responding to the growing backlash against his brand, Musk recommended criminal prosecutions for peaceful protestors who are part of a growing, global campaign against Tesla. Donald Trump obliged his co-President and said he will label violence against Tesla dealerships as “domestic terrorism.” If you’re keeping track, participating in a violent insurrection, beating up police officers, smearing shit in the Capitol, and trying to overturn a free and fair election in service of Trump is perfectly fine. Trump will praise you and pardon you for your crimes. But, if you’re protesting Tesla dealerships - and only Tesla dealerships - then you’re a domestic terrorist. Also, if you engage in political speech the Trump Administration doesn’t like, then you will be detained and deported, just like pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who has been charged with zero crimes.

For his $290 million contribution to the Trump campaign, Musk bought the presidency and a government subsidized ad for a Tesla. In the most blatant, shameless, and pure example of the quid pro quo grift - and direct violation of the Hatch Act - Donald Trump decided to hawk Teslas from the White House lawn on Monday. He was even handed a Tesla sales pitch during his remarks. For his part, Trump promised to purchase a Tesla to show support for his largest benefactor. In return, Axios reports that Musk plans to give another $100 million to Trump’s political operation.

Even Fox News reporter Pete Doocy realized this is a terrible look. At the White House, Doocy told Trump, “You're buying a new car. There are some folks who will see this clip at home and they are struggling with their retirement accounts down at the moment.” Trump, who told Sean Hannity he didn’t care about the economy and reshared a post telling people to shut up about the high price of eggs, replied, “Well, I think they’re gonna do great. Our country had to do this.” This includes firing 1,300 employees from the Department of Education and 400 FAA employees. This includes gutting Social Security and Medicaid, which are “entitlements” and a Ponzi scheme according to Musk.

Two fragile, brittle, privileged men with giant egos and a sycophantic cult deserve each other as partners. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to undo a powerful story, even if it is bullshit. In the end of Knives Out 2, Edward Norton’s billionaire is revealed to be a fraud, but not before causing mayhem and death. His Glass Onion mansion blows up due to his reckless stupidity. The United States of America is in danger of sinking thanks to the greed, pettiness, and vulgarity of two weak men. Many Americans will suffer before the masses eventually wake up to the truth of the glass onion before them.